


Bug Out

by Freedom_Shamrock



Series: Miraculous Acts of Kindness [18]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Dating, F/M, Fluff, Marichat, Marichat May, Reveal Fic, Sabine Cheng Knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 12:04:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11058582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/pseuds/Freedom_Shamrock
Summary: Marinette gets a very distinctive scratch across her face.





	Bug Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EdenDaphne (edelet)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/edelet/gifts).



> This chronologically follows "Everything's Better." While this does stand on its own, if you want to read in order, go back and catch that one first

"Ouch!" Marinette squealed, freezing in the middle of pulling a dress over her head.

"What's wrong?" Chat asked, hands out, ready to help.  She'd sounded more startled than hurt, but he didn't care for it either way.  There was also something vaguely familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place it.

"I must've missed a pin," she muttered, holding the neckline away from her as she peeled it back off.

Chat gathered the fabric and eased it back over her head, wincing at the long thin line of red down her cheek, from temple to jaw.  "Oh, Princess," he whispered sadly.  "You're bleeding."

"It's just a scratch," she assured him, trying to find the offending pin.

"It's on your face, though."  He frowned and decided their photoshoot was cancelled.  "We've got to get that taken care of.  Pack up."

"But it's just a…"

"No," he said firmly.  He hadn't had to show her his stern and unmovable side, so it was apparently time.  "We're going home and I'm going to tend to that."

She blinked in surprise.  "You're that worried about it?"

"Please just let me take care of you," he said, bending to press his forehead against hers in the way she liked.

"Fine."  She sighed.  "Take me home, Chataxi."

He helped gather up the few things they'd brought, tucking them into her backpack, before pulling her close to bound across the rooftops.

When they got to her room, she pulled her first aid kit out from under her desk.  "All right Kitty."  

She handed him the large blue canvas bag.  His Princess could be spectacularly clumsy, but even still, it was a much more complete kit than he'd expected.  It reminded him of the one he'd snuck into his bathroom for those bad attacks with breaks in the action where he or Ladybug needed treatment until they could finish off the akuma.  

She settled herself on the chaise, her cheek turned toward him and her eyes closed.  "Just so you know, I'm going to imagine you in a nurse outfit while you do this."

He felt the grin on his face.  "Real nurse, or…" he paused suggestively.

"Definitely naughty nurse."

* * *

He'd reached the attack first, and started his usual routine of distracting the akuma and helping people escape.  He caught the flash of red out of the corner of his eye, and knew Ladybug was on the scene, so perhaps they could wrap this up quickly.

As it turned out, they spent most of the fight on opposite sides of the street, trapping the akuma between them and instinctively picking up each others' cues for action.  They'd been partners long enough that they rarely needed to actually talk about their plan. They briefly traded roles, Ladybug swinging in front of the akuma while Chat darted behind and stole the possessed hair clip.

He tossed it to her so she could start the cleansing process while he obeyed the laws of physics and continued on his current arc.  By the time his feet touched down to redirect him back, he heard Ladybug capture the purple butterfly.

"No more evil doing for you," she said.  She'd once explained that it was the first half of a spell.  The yoyo would purify the butterfly either way, but the spell prevented the butterfly from returning to Hawkmoth.  "Bye bye, little butterfly."  That was the second half.  He landed next to her as she picked up the lucky charm to toss it into the air.  "Miraculous Ladybug!"

He held out his fist. "Pound i…"  He froze as she tapped his fist with hers.

"Chat?" she asked, sounding worried.  "Are you okay?  Did the cure not work?"

He caught her face in both hands and traced his thumb down the tiny familiar line that ran from temple to jaw.  "You're hurt," he whispered, his brain a jumbled mess.  "You…"

"It's okay Ki… Chaton," she stammered, sounding more like his girlfriend than his partner in that moment, and holy hell it made more sense than it didn't.  "It's just a scratch."

For a long moment, they seemed trapped in each other's gaze, then her earrings beeped.  "Time to bug out," he said quietly.  "I need to go visit my girlfriend, anyway.  So I'll cat-ch you later."  Giving her a heads up seemed only fair, but he also didn't want to wait on this any longer than he needed to.

Panic crossed her face.  He knew that look.  

"Go on, little bug."  He waved her away with his fingers.  "This isn't the time or place."

She nodded once then swung off, not even bothering to conceal the direction she was heading.  The cat was well and truly out of the bag, and there was no putting it back.

* * *

Part of him wanted to wait a full half hour before showing up, because he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep himself from dropping his transformation, and he'd promised her that much warning before revealing himself.  But he couldn't do it.  He knew she was freaking out, probably more than he was, and he couldn't leave her to do that alone.  So it was only fifteen minutes after they parted ways that he landed on her balcony.

He was relieved to see she'd left the Chat flap open.  He'd half expected to have to come in another way.  "Hey Princess," he called careful to keep his voice light.  It was definitely a shock to realize his girlfriend, his longtime classmate and friend, was Ladybug.  And it would take a little getting used to, but he was surprisingly content with the discovery.  "Princess, I'm coming in."

Her lack of response was a little worrying, and he dropped into her room without further delay.  She was frantically doing something at her computer.  She clicked a few more things, then shoved herself away from the desk hard enough to rock her chair backward.  Chat leaped forward and caught her.

"You okay, love?" he asked, running his thumb over that tell-tale scratch.  She whimpered, closing her eyes.  He righted the chair and sat down, cradling her on his lap.  "It's okay," he whispered.

"That's not how I wanted to do it!" she blurted, burrowing into his chest like she thought he might disappear any moment.  "I was going to show you when you were ready to tell me who you are.  I didn't want to push you into it."

He chuckled.  "I've always wanted to know who you are, you know that."

"But you'd stopped asking or even hinting… I thought you'd had second thoughts."

He shook his head.  "No.  I was trying to respect your wishes."  He kissed her forehead.  "And I admit, once I started hanging out with Marinette, it didn't seem so important anymore."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she mumbled.

"What on earth for?" he demanded.  "Look, Princess, I'm not upset about this.  If anything, I'm glad you're My Lady.  I do find it ironic that we had to fall in love with each other twice, but honestly, that makes it feel that much more right."

"But I was so stupid," she insisted.  "I pushed you away and hurt your feelings because I was so blinded by my own pointless crushtastrophe that I couldn't see you properly until recently.  I mean, if my mom hadn't pointed it out, I'd probably still be stupidly clueless."  She sat up and rubbed angrily at her eyes.  "I don't want you to feel like you're my second choice, but I know that's what it looks like."

"We both talked about our emotional hang ups before we started dating," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but the person you were hung up on was still me, so it didn't really bother me."  Her shrug was a helpless little thing.

"Can I detransform?" he asked.  "I know it hasn't been half an hour yet, but, honestly, I think it will clear up a lot of this mess."  When she stared at him silently, he continued.  "And everything you're worried about, all the crimes you feel you committed against me, I'm guilty of those as well."  When she hesitated, he kissed her cheek, then her chin.  "Please Princess.  I'm kind of freaking out here."

She climbed out of his lap and nodded.

"Don't go too far," he said, snatching one of her hands.  "Remember, I may need to protect you from evil purple butterflies."

She planted her free hand on her hip.  "I may freak out, but I'm not going to be angry or disappointed."

"Plagg, claws in," he said, surprised when she held his eyes instead of looking away.

"Adrien?" she gasped, her hand gripping his tightly, but not trying to pull away.

"Hey there, Princess," he said quietly.

"Oh my god," she whispered.  "You're… and I… and we…"  She trailed off and stared at him.  "Oh my god.  I kept turning you down because I was in love with you, only I didn't know you were you!"  Her voice was steadily rising.  Yep.  Freak out time.

He stood up, catching her chin in his palm.  "We both did it," he said.  "And it's okay.  Like I said, it makes it feel more… like the real thing, because we both fell for each other twice."  He bent to kiss her, staggering a little when she grabbed onto his hair and went for something less sweet and far more primal.

He only pulled away because he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Hello Adrien," Sabine said brightly, popping into her daughter's room with a tray.  "I thought you might be here."  She placed the tray on the desk.  "Lemon ice for both of you, cookies for Marinette and pain au chocolate for Adrien with camembert on the side."

His girlfriend stared at her mother as if she'd grown another head, or two.  He could see her taking in the details, noting the facts, and utterly failing to refute the truth.

"Thank you," Adrien said.  All of this confirmed his long-standing suspicion that she'd known who Chat was.  He now realized she knew Marinette was Ladybug.  But how had she known about his kwami's very specific cheese taste?  He'd never mentioned it.

"Will you be staying over?" Sabine asked as she reached the top of the stairs.

He glanced at Marinette, then back at her mother.  "Yes."

Sabine smiled.  "Excellent.  I'll let you know when dinner is ready.  And if you're interested in game night, Tom's ready to have another go at you with the computer, or we could see if things turn out differently in the Ladybug and Chat Noir board game."

"We'll see," he replied.  "Depends on what Mari wants."

Sabine caught the trap door's handle.  "I'll just give you two some privacy, then."

Marinette stared at him, her eyes wide.  "Holy shit.  How does my mother know everything?"

"We can ask later," he said.  It wasn't an issue that was going anywhere.  "But right now I need to know.  Are we okay?  Will Ladybug still be able to work with Chat?"

"Of course she will."  She almost sounded offended.

He was a lot less certain on this next one.  "And do I still get to be your boyfriend?"

She caressed his cheek.  "Yes Kitty.  Very yes."

He nodded.  "Great.  Can we go back to the kissing?  I liked that part.  I want to do that some more."

She leaned in and whispered, her lips brushing his ear.  "Lock my door, and meet me in my bunk."

**Author's Note:**

> Marichat May, Day 30, Scratch  
> This is also a continuation of my [Miraculous Acts of Kindness](http://archiveofourown.org/series/714990) series proposed by [Squirrellygirlart](https://squirrellygirlart.tumblr.com/post/160090522213/hey-my-followers-miraculous-acts-of-kindness) on Tumblr. Eden Daphne is an artist who has put together some fantastic art and comics in ML and other fandoms. I absolutely could not pick a favorite, though I'm a sucker for the aged up ML pieces. You can find her on [Tumblr](http://edendaphne.tumblr.com/), where her blog name has a fantastically geeky origin story, or check out her participation in some delightful illustrated pieces [on AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/edelet/pseuds/edelet).  
> 


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